Our Expertise
ShiRP, or the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program, was spearheaded by two Principal Investigators, Dr. Christopher Gobler and Dr. Ellen Pikitch, both professors at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Dr. Gobler is a Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair of Coastal Ecology and Conservation, while Dr. Pikitch is Endowed Professor of Ocean Conservation Science and Executive Director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science.
Dr. Gobler leads ShiRP’s efforts in water quality and shellfish restoration, with key collaborators Mike Doall and Dr. Brad Peterson. Mike designs, implements, and monitors all of our hard clam and oyster restoration efforts, while Brad and his lab lead our eelgrass restoration and benthic surveys. Dr. Pikitch leads the fisheries monitoring and eDNA research components of ShiRP and is developing ways to pilot test the use of new technologies. Christine Santora plays a multifaceted role in the program, leading communications efforts, developing new partnerships, and assisting with fundraising, project management, and research.
Pikitch Lab
The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science conducts world-class scientific research that helps increase our knowledge of critical ocean threats, provides the foundation for smarter ocean policy, and establishes new frameworks for improved ocean conservation.
Whether we're tagging sharks off of Caribbean Reefs, assessing the legal and financial state of Marine Protected Areas, or exchanging ideas with leaders at the UN, we believe that the true power of science lies in its ability to change policies and perspectives around the world.
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Gobler Lab
Our lab research focuses on many aspects of marine and benthic ecology. More specifically, we use quantitative experimental ecology and take a multidisciplinary approach to examine controlling mechanisms of spatial and temporal variability in community structure and stability.
Much of our research focuses on positive biological interactions, benthopelagic coupling, habitat utilization, and ecosystem engineering.
Peterson Lab
Our lab research focuses on many aspects of marine and benthic ecology. More specifically, we use quantitative experimental ecology and take a multidisciplinary approach to examine controlling mechanisms of spatial and temporal variability in community structure and stability.
Much of our research focuses on positive biological interactions, benthopelagic coupling, habitat utilization, and ecosystem engineering.
Mike Doall
Associate Director for Shellfish Restoration & Aquaculture
Michael Doall is the Associate Director for Bivalve Restoration and Aquaculture for the Gobler Lab at the School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. In this role, Michael helps lead projects to improve Long Island’s coastal waters and fisheries through shellfish restoration and restorative aquaculture. As both a career research scientist and commercial oyster farmer, Mike brings a unique perspective and combination of skills to his work that contribute to the development of science-based, in-the-water solutions to coastal environmental problems. Over the past twenty years, Mike has designed and implemented restoration and aquaculture projects in dozens of locations throughout New York waters, from the Hudson Raritan Estuary to the eastern bays of Long Island. Most recently in his current position, Mike helps lead multiple projects to build and monitor restored oyster reefs and hard clam and oyster spawner sanctuaries in Long Island bays, including in Shinnecock Bay as part of the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program. Mike also has a strong research interest in using shellfish and seaweed aquaculture as a tool to improve coastal water quality, and over the past several years has developed and refined techniques for nutrient bioextraction using seaweeds in impacted waters off the coast of Long Island.
Christine Santora
Program Manager
Christine Santora is Assistant Director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science and has been Program Manager of ShiRP since its inception. She has over twenty years of experience working on a variety of marine science and policy issues including marine protected areas, fisheries management, and estuary restoration. Christine is a member of the Pikitch lab and contributes to ShiRP’s fisheries monitoring work, but coordinates across all three labs on program deliverables and communications efforts. Christine is an “ambassador” of the ShiRP program and has spent over a decade creating impactful partnerships, giving talks and presentations about ShiRP around Long Island and at national conferences, and finding creative ways to promote and message the program’s success. Prior to ShiRP, Christine was Project Director of the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force, a four-year scientific effort that developed recommendations and ecosystem-based standards for the management of forage fish populations worldwide. She has co-authored dozens of peer-reviewed papers and reports over the course of her career. Christine has a Masters in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelors of Environmental Studies from Providence College. In 2022, Christine earned an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Science Communications from the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University.